Everquest - Expansions Revealed for both I & II

August 18th, 2008, 22:29

SOE's Fan Faire '08 brings the press release that both EverquestI & II have expansions in-development.
The expansion pack Seeds of Destruction for Everquest is scheduled for October 21, 2008 and below is the feature list:
Link for Everquest's website with more information.
Link for teaser trailer.

EverQuest Seeds of Destruction Feature Set:
— Mercenaries: Player-controlled NPCs are now available and will not only scale to the appropriate level, but also think and act for themselves with limited player guidance. Designed for extra support or extra muscle in PvE encounters, mercenary archetypes include a variety of classes from all playable races.
— Level Cap Increase: Players can now achieve level 85 with new high-level item sets, new alternate advancement ability lines and new spells.
— 20 New Zones: Features re-imagined classic content and brand-new realms for adventurers to explore, including the eerie wasteland of the Void, the Battle of Rathe on the Plane of Earth and the ultimate Heart of Darkness in the Plane of Discord.
— Access to All Previous Content — Includes all features and content from the 14 previous expansion packs.
— Legends of Norrath: Includes strategic online trading card game, digital starter deck, booster pack and loot item.

The expansion pack The shadow of Odyssey for Everquest II is scheduled for November 18, 2008, and below is the feature list:
Link for Everquest II's website with more information.
Link for teaser trailer.

EverQuest II The Shadow Odyssey Feature Set:
— New Zones: Journey through more than 20 new zones, including the new overland zone, Innothule Swamp.
— Dungeon Adventures: Experience nostalgic EverQuest dungeon themes, such as Najena, Mistmoore and The Sebilisian Empire, and adventure through more than 18 goal-based dungeons, such as Ruins of Guk and Befallen.
— Achievement Point: An achievement level cap increase to 200 that offers new achievements for class-specific lines.
— Dungeon Delving: A new mission system for players to replay content with new and different experiences.
— Heritage Quests: Five new quests with unique rewards being added.
— Shard Reward System: A new, mysterious group of erudites with powerful new armor and equipment will barter for void shards earned during players' encounters
— Epic Tales: Stories told through battles with dozens of new creatures and hundreds of new quests.
— New Deities: Rodcet Nife and Anashti Sul are introduced into Norrath.
— Access to All Previous Content: Includes all previous expansion packs and adventure packs.
— Legends of Norrath: Includes strategic online trading card game, digital starter deck and booster pack.

Let me say it in this way: I played EQ2 with break from day one, as it is a good and complex game. For a big part of the content is never to be seen unless you play with monthly schedules and a great deal of coordination. After a longer break I lost most contacts I had, and I found, placing my level 69 pally into "LFG" and shouting for groups was a totally futile undertaking. Over weeks and weeks I practically spent 90% of the time shouting and waiting for a group (since soloism doesnt really pay off at this level at all.)

EQ2 has always been a game solely for those with a BIG social network inside the game. Outside these networks people are very rarely ever invited to group, and its that unfortunate mechanism which kept EQ2 in its niche.